Friday, July 09, 2010

Florida College System Tops National Rankings

For the eighth year in a row, The Florida College System ranks among the top producers of associate degrees in the nation according to Community College Week’s annual Top 10 report. The report, conducted using data for the 2008-09 academic year from the National Center for Education Statistics, shows that Florida colleges lead America’s more than 1,200 community colleges in a range of degree categories.

Highlights of the report include:

Seventeen Florida colleges are among the top 100 for the total number of associate degrees awarded.

Miami Dade College was again ranked number one in the nation for the number of associate degrees awarded to Hispanic students and for the total number of associate degrees awarded to all minority groups.

Nine Florida colleges placed in the top 10 in the production of associate degrees in Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies, and Humanities.

Three Florida colleges were among the top 10 in associate degrees awarded in Nursing.

Through an unwavering commitment to an open-door policy, Florida colleges awarded 52,439 associate degrees in 2008-09. The colleges are currently the first choice of more than 900,000 students looking for access to postsecondary opportunities that is affordable and close to home. To view Community College Week’s Top 10 report for a list of Florida institutions and their national rankings, visit http://www.ccweek.com/news/templates/template.aspx?articleid=1918&zoneid=7. For more information about The Florida College System, visit www.fldoe.org/cc/.